On the Road: New York with Lani and Alesia
Mar312007
Lani Diane Rich arrived Friday night and I’d love to tell you we did sophisticated, publisher author stuff, but I’d walked all over NYC all day, and she’d been doing the editor/agent thing, so we just vegged at the apartment. The highlight of the evening was when we googled for the Ugliest Dog Contest and then laughed ourselves into hysterics at the dogs, all of whom had proud loving owners so we weren’t being cruel. Sam, of course, is the ugliest dog of all time, a three-time winner of the event, and once you see him you really wonder how any other dog could have beaten him, but we did develop a special fondness for another dog, a little lady in pearls and a tiara:
I’d post Sam’s picture, but he was scary. Sweet but scary. We were devastated to learn he’d died at fourteen, which was pretty good considering the problems Sam’s DNA probably had. His obit is here including a video. Be afraid.
Then Alesia Holliday ducked out of the PASIC conference and came to spend the afternoon and evening, and we bought enough chocolate for thirty and once again let down the glamour of the published author by eating ourselves sick on candy and laughing way too loud. I’d write more about that, but I think Lani has it covered. At least there were several times tonight when she said, “That’s goin’ on the blog.” I believe she’s calling her entry, “That’s Goin’ On The Blog, Bitch,” but I’m not sure. We sort of lost our grip early on. And the real problem with that is that the stuff we found hysterical wouldn’t be if I tried to reproduce it. Giddiness so rarely translates well. Unlike Sam, who was ugly but lovable in any language.
Tomorrow I’m all alone with leftover pizza and leftover Chinese and Agnes, since I have the galleys of Agnes and the Hitman here. I’m trying to think of what I’ve accomplished this week, and it’s been pretty much consuming large amounts of food and walking a lot but not enough to counteract the large amounts of food. And laughing. The laughing is key.
But now I need to get back to work. Galleys, short stories about getting rid of bodies, papers about community, you all have done the research, now I have to write the damn things. The party’s over.
I really am sad about Sam. We will not see his like again.
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18 Comments to 'On the Road: New York with Lani and Alesia'
On April 1, 2007 at 2:54 am downundergal said...
We all need to take time out to laugh. Sounds like your pajama party was fun with a capital F.
On April 1, 2007 at 2:55 am ZaZa said...
With any luck. Poor thing.
Well, your fun week may be over, but you’ve got the memories and, probably, a chocolate hangover.
Now the fun starts for those of us who are waiting for James and how the girls disposed of the body.
On April 1, 2007 at 5:14 am Theresa said...
Yep. Doing the research is definitely the easy part, at least in my personal experience. Glad we could help! Heh.
Been meaning to ask but wasn’t sure where. Is Agnes and the Hitman actually going to be the official title for publishing of Agnes and the Hitman?
Glad that you had a fun week and were able to let you hair down with all those fabulous people! Very good for the soul.
On April 1, 2007 at 9:55 am wendy roberts said...
Gotta love those ugly dogs LOL! Glad you had a chance to unwind with friends and get a chocolate high.
On April 1, 2007 at 12:58 pm Michelle said...
Sounds like a fun time! Thanks so much for the ugly dog laughs. The little lady with this pearls is now sittin’ pretty as my desktop background. I smile every time I turn on the computer.
On April 1, 2007 at 2:06 pm Sheri said...
I’m so glad you have been having a great time in New York. Sounds like you have gotten to spend time with many of your favorite people and that’s always good. And your sore foot doesn’t seem to have slowed you down at all! I also appreciate the fact that you were able to mix business with pleasure. Smart woman, our Jenny.
On April 1, 2007 at 4:50 pm Jill said...
All I ever need for a good time is chocolate. Glad I’m in good company. Just reread Manhunting and it was just as wonderful and hysterical the second time around.
On April 1, 2007 at 9:59 pm Karen Templeton said...
Oh, man — I literally jumped when I saw Sam’s picture. Yeah, yeah, you warned us, but…
He was one strange-looking dog, bless his heart.
On April 1, 2007 at 11:41 pm roben said...
Just clicked on the dog’s photo. How darn cute is that? I love that wild hair, agree with Michelle, she makes me smile.
On April 2, 2007 at 11:17 am Deborah said...
Laughing sucks all the calories out of chocolate, so with the walking to cover the pizza and Chinese – you’re covered =)
I spent the week end laughing (and crying and laughing…) with friends to. There is really nothing as joyful.
Cheers!
On April 2, 2007 at 11:50 am Barb said...
You know, I thought my friend Richard had captured the Ugliest Dog Ever on film, but this lady is a beauty, comparatively speaking.
http://www.rmallnutt.com/pages/CRW_7186.htm
On April 2, 2007 at 1:36 pm Office Wench Cherry said...
Sam probably wouldn’t have been half so scary looking if he didn’t have cataracts. The girl with the wild hair is cute, how could you help but love a face like that.
On April 2, 2007 at 7:43 pm Alesia Holliday said...
You know, I was driving around all day today trying to figure out why “things are looking up” was so hysterically funny that I had tears running down my face.
I got nuthin.
On April 3, 2007 at 12:54 am micki said...
OMGoodness, that’s a startlingly ugly dog — I just didn’t have the courage for the video. Looked like something that should have been on Buffy’s first season.
Yet the dog was loved, and loved in return. I don’t know what the owner looked like, but all those stories about appearances don’t matter, it’s what’s in the heart come to mind. Brings tears to the eyes. Rest in peace, pup.
On April 3, 2007 at 2:35 pm Eileen said...
This sounds like so much fun. That much laughter? With Chocolate? Does it get better?
On April 3, 2007 at 8:46 pm JulieB said...
Thanks for the posts on your trip — it’s like getting postcards.
Barb — why does your friend’s dog remind me of Roddy McDowell??
On April 4, 2007 at 9:02 am Chelle said...
Okay, am I the only one wondering WHY they googled the Ugliest Dog Contest??
That sounds like a blog in and of itself.
On April 5, 2007 at 5:01 am Jennifer Talty said...
Oh, that sounds like so much fun!!!! I love Googling stuff. I love NYC and love my girlfiends. While you all were looking up ugly dog contests, I was at NEC dressed as a Robert Palmer girl – fake eyelashes and all. What a blast. Nothing like letting it all loose with some friends.